Longworth, Michelle S.Walker, JamesAnderssen, EndreMoon, Nam-SungGladden, AndrewHeck, Margarete M. S.Ramaswamy, SridharDyson, Nicholas2013-02-262012Longworth, Michelle S., James A. Walker, Endre Anderssen, Nam-Sung Moon, Andrew Gladden, Margarete M. S. Heck, Sridhar Ramaswamy, and Nicholas J. Dyson. 2012. A shared role for RBF1 and dCAP-D3 in the regulation of transcription with consequences for innate immunity. PLoS Genetics 8(4): e1002618.1553-7390http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10345110Previously, we discovered a conserved interaction between RB proteins and the Condensin II protein CAP-D3 that is important for ensuring uniform chromatin condensation during mitotic prophase. The Drosophila melanogaster homologs RBF1 and dCAP-D3 co-localize on non-dividing polytene chromatin, suggesting the existence of a shared, non-mitotic role for these two proteins. Here, we show that the absence of RBF1 and dCAP-D3 alters the expression of many of the same genes in larvae and adult flies. Strikingly, most of the genes affected by the loss of RBF1 and dCAP-D3 are not classic cell cycle genes but are developmentally regulated genes with tissue-specific functions and these genes tend to be located in gene clusters. Our data reveal that RBF1 and dCAP-D3 are needed in fat body cells to activate transcription of clusters of antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes. AMPs are important for innate immunity, and loss of either dCAP-D3 or RBF1 regulation results in a decrease in the ability to clear bacteria. Interestingly, in the adult fat body, RBF1 and dCAP-D3 bind to regions flanking an AMP gene cluster both prior to and following bacterial infection. These results describe a novel, non-mitotic role for the RBF1 and dCAP-D3 proteins in activation of the Drosophila immune system and suggest dCAP-D3 has an important role at specific subsets of RBF1-dependent genes.en-USBiologyGeneticsGene ExpressionMolecular GeneticsImmunologyImmunityJournal Article2013-02-2610.1371/journal.pgen.1002618